Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Rapid purity and charge-variant analysis of bispecific antibodies using microfluidic capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry

Bispecific antibody (BsAb) therapeutics have the ability to bind two targets simultaneously, which opens up new pathways for disease treatment. BsAbs consist of distinct heavy and light chains that need to be assembled correctly to form the appropriate heterodimer. However, durin...

The DGA of planar loops when 2n=4

Abstract The DGA of planar loops is a pictorial chain complex introduced in a recent paper of the author, Boyd, Randal‐Williams and Sroka, where a minimal model for it was given. In the first non‐trivial case, , we give a new model which incorporates two natural ‘reflection’ invo...

Best practices to master robotic preparation of ready-to-administer systemic anticancer therapy in hospital pharmacies

Automated reconstitution or preparation of systemic anticancer therapy has gained traction in the past decade. Transitioning from traditional manual workflows to fully automated production offers multiple benefits: decreased pharmacy staff workload, reduced risk of repetitive str...

ValuesML: A new multilingual dataset for values detection in news and political manifestos

Abstract Values are important building blocks of political ideologies and are frequently invoked in political debates. Yet, because values are abstract, understanding how they are expressed in real-world discourse, and how this varies across contexts, remains a challenge. In this...

Scaling Social Impact at Tony's Chocolonely: How Interactional Dynamics Shape Social Innovation Processes and Drive Institutional Change

Abstract Social enterprises are frontrunners in social innovation, yet our understanding of how they can scale their social impact beyond local, contained contexts remains nascent. To transform the institutional environment that gives rise to social problems, social enterprises m...

Explaining gender differences in the associations between care network type and depressive symptoms of older adults in the Netherlands

The association between long-term care use and mental health is ambiguous: informal care is generally negatively related to depressive symptoms, while formal care use is positively associated. As both care use and mental health are highly gendered, this study explored gender diff...

Towards an Archaeological Workflow for SedaDNA Sample Collection: Methods and Best Practices for Minimising Surface Contamination

Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has been successfully recovered from diverse contexts, enabling researchers to address paleoenvironmental questions such as ecosystem changes and climatic shifts, along with archaeological questions related to past human activities, diet, health,...

Tiny Droplets, Large Insights: Studying Peptide Aggregationwith Droplet-Based Microfluidics Hyphenated with Ion Mobility MassSpectrometry

Abstract Peptide and protein aggregation are hallmarks of numerous neurodegenerative diseases. However, the structural characterization of oligomeric intermediates remains challenging due to their low abundance, heterogenic nature, and complexity of coinciding and transient react...

Virtual worlds and mental health: A scoping review

<title>Abstract</title> The constant increase in the use of virtual worlds in recent decades has raised concerns about their potential effects on users’ mental health. However, the great heterogeneity of the scientific literature on this topic makes it difficult to identify exist...

Prognostic value of measuring LSC frequency in AML: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Leukemia stem cells (LSC) are thought to be responsible for relapse in patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). LSC can be quantified at diagnosis to improve risk stratification, and during follow-up to monitor residual disease. To systematically evaluate the prognostic relevan...

Deciphering the evolutionary origin of the enantioselectivity of short-chain dehydrogenases from plants toward 1-borneol

Abstract Enzyme engineering has produced numerous methods to optimize enzymes for biotechnological processes; however, less is known about how natural evolution creates new functionalities. We investigate the evolutionary emergence of enantioselectivity in plant borneol dehydroge...

Navigating regulatory scenarios for accelerating drug repurposing in rare diseases: a multi-stakeholder perspective on the challenges and opportunities

<title>Abstract</title> Background: The lack of treatments for patients with a rare disease calls for innovative approaches in drug development. A potential solution to accelerate therapy development is to find new therapeutic uses for existing drugs, i.e. drug repurposing. One w...

PLCG2 downregulation impairs synaptic function and increases Alzheimer’s disease hallmarks in neuronal cultures

We developed a high-content screening to investigate how Alzheimer’s disease (AD) genetic risk factors may affect synaptic mechanisms in rat primary neuronal cultures. Of the target genes identified, we found that Plcg2 downregulation in mouse dentate gyrus neurons consistently d...

An ecosyndemic framework for understanding obesity: Spatial clustering of health, environmental and socioeconomic disadvantage in the Netherlands

Abstract Introduction Obesity and related health conditions are unevenly distributed across neighborhoods, often co-occuring with multiple health challenges and socioeconomic disadvantages. Using an ecosyndemic framework, which integrates ecological and social dimensions that con...

Clean up your mesh! Part 1: plane and simplex

Abstract We revisit the geometric foundations of mesh representation through the lens of plane-based geometric algebra (PGA), investigating its efficiency and expressiveness for discrete geometry. We find how k-simplices (vertices, edges, faces, …) and k-complexes (point clouds,...

In-human assessment of target engagement and blockade of radiolabeled BI 765063, an anti-SIRPα antibody

The signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα) receptor on myeloid cells binds cluster of differentiation (CD) antigen CD47 on tumor cells, resulting in a “don’t eat me” signal that inhibits phagocytosis. BI 765063, an anti-SIRPα antibody, may restore anti-tumor immunity by blocking...

A ubiquitin chain-feeding mechanism for BRCA1-A

Abstract The BRCA1-A complex is a multi-subunit, metallo-deubiquitinating enzyme (metallo-DUB) involved in genome maintenance. BRCA1-A displays strict specificity for K63-linked ubiquitin, with a strong preference for long chains, but the mechanistic basis for this selectivity ha...

Perceived negative social influence related to weight loss: development of a questionnaire and exploratory factor analysis

Weight loss is often unsuccessful in the long term. The social environment plays a role in lapses and relapses. Perceived negative social influence is still underexplored in the context of weight loss. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure perceived nega...

Data-driven mapping of known and novel fluid biomarker progression profiles in genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Abstract Introduction Recent proteomic studies have identified both established and novel proteins in genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). However, it remains unclear at what point in the disease these proteins deviate from normal levels and how their trajectories re...

Decolonising GenAI in Higher Education: Be(com)ing response-able with(out) GenAI

In this paper, we engage with critical Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) through a decolonial reading and call for enacting a pedagogy of refusal in higher education. Through critical consciousness, we aim at informing educators as they (en)counter GenAI for/in higher ed...